A Yale Law graduate, Usha Vance was thrust into the spotlight after her husband became Trump’s vice-presidential pick. - Reuters
NEW DELHI: With Vice-President Kamala Harris’ defeat in the US elections, the Indian media is turning its attention to another woman of South Asian descent who is gaining prominence in American politics.
Usha Chilukuri Vance is the wife of J.D. Vance, running mate of Donald Trump, who won a second term in Nov 5’s US presidential election. She is the daughter of Indian immigrants from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, where local media said villagers had been praying for her husband’s victory this week.
“We offered special prayers for Usha Vance’s success,” one of the villagers told Asian News International (ANI).
“The victory of Usha’s husband will advance the bilateral relationship between India and US.”
On Nov 6, residents set off firecrackers in the village to celebrate the election results, ANI reported.
A Yale Law graduate, Usha was thrust into the spotlight earlier in 2024 after her husband became Trump’s vice-presidential pick. At the time, some social media users had put her in the same category as several prominent American chief executive officers with Indian roots, like Microsoft’s Satya Nadella. Harris is also the child of an Indian immigrant.
Usha comes from a family known for its academic achievements. Her 96-year-old grand-aunt in Andhra Pradesh has been celebrated in Indian media as the country’s oldest working professor.
The incoming Second Lady, 38, spoke about her Indian heritage at the Republican National Convention in July, highlighting her “very different” background to her husband’s.
“I grew up in San Diego in a middle-class community with two loving parents, both immigrants from India,” she said at the time. Vance, who met his wife in law school, rose from poverty to become a venture capitalist.
“That J.D. and I could meet and fall in love and marry is a testament to this great country,” she said, adding that her husband loves to cook Indian food for her mother.
In an interview with Fox News earlier in 2024, Usha Vance said that her parents practise Hinduism and that made them “such good parents”.
“That made them very good people. And I think I have seen the power of that in my own life,” she said.
In the same interview, which was shared widely in India at the time, the Vice-president-elect said that his wife was “very supportive” when he began to “re-engage” with his own faith.
On Nov 6, local media played up Usha’s roots and speculated about what role she could play in India-US relations. One news outlet, Aaj Tak, said her heritage means that South Asian representation in US politics will continue despite Harris’ exit.
Andhra Pradesh’s chief minister also invited the pair to the state, adding that Vance’s victory is a “moment of pride” for his community.
Both Usha and Harris were trending on social media in India on Nov 6 as users debated the benefits of the regions their families hail from.
Harris’ Indian connection – her mother was born in the southern Indian city of Chennai – had also sparked a social media frenzy when President Joe Biden had picked her as his running mate in 2020.
Local outlets and TV crews had raced to hunt down an assortment of Harris’ aunts and even a great-uncle at the time. But that excitement soon died down as India has not been a personal priority for her, and she has not visited the country during her time as vice-president. - Bloomberg
